That said, the more physical Jones can get during minicamps the better, as he’s learning a brand new offense for the third time in his four seasons in the NFL – and this one, he really likes so far.
“I think it gives us the ability to put a lot of different guys in different spots that kind of cater to their skillsets and allow them to do what they're best at,” Jones said this week. “So I think it's pretty versatile that way, and there's tons of different concepts, there are a lot of moving parts trying to keep defense on their heels, so, yeah, I think all that stuff is great.”
As Jones explained, there are some similar concepts to his previous offenses, but some are a lot different and also the verbiage is a lot different, so it’s like learning a foreign language in a way.
Thankfully, he has a great tutor in ex-Bills practice squadder Davis Webb, a former Giants draft pick who returned to Big Blue this season to serve as the third quarterback behind Jones and Tyrod Taylor.
“It's been extremely helpful to have him. He's a super smart guy who has a lot of experience in this offense, so to have him in the room to answer questions, to give suggestions, and help you think through things has been awesome,” Jones said. “He does a great job in the quarterback room with us and then communicating to receivers and tight ends, and been a huge help to me learning this offense and working through everything, so he's been extremely valuable.”
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While Webb helps him with the language and the machinations of the offense, Jones himself is working on his footwork to help that transition, but is also putting his own stamp on certain things that he would prefer to do in a slightly different way.
“There is a constant line of communication between Coach Daboll, (offensive coordinator Mike) Kafka, (quarterbacks coach) Shea (Tierney), me, and all the quarterbacks. We're always communicating what we like, what we don't like, if we would rather did it out of a certain look or if there is a tweak we want to make,” Jones said. “We’ve all given input, but the big part is learning it first and getting a feel for what it is you don't like, and what you like. You need to run plays, you need to get reps, you need to do it a couple different ways, see it against different looks before you have a great idea.”
In Daboll’s mind, it’s going well so far.
“He’s made progress and done a good job, really studied it and opened up I would say a good amount here,” the head coach said. “When you're installing a new system, usually players, particularly quarterbacks, they're going to do whatever you ask them to do, but it’s really important to get their input, too, and figure out some of the stuff they like. Some of it is a day of, too, let's do stuff you don't feel comfortable with and see if we can improve on those type of things, those type of throws, those type of concepts, but he’s been really good.”
Daboll and Jones will see what comes as minicamp progresses, but when it ends after Thursday’s activities, Jones will use the next six or seven weeks to continue to get up to speed before training camp begins in earnest in late July.
“I think the learning continues, and I'll continue to study and continue to work on what we've started here. I don't think you can afford to put it down and just come back during camp,” he said. “There is certainly more studying and there is more kind of playbook-specific work rather than just fundamental throwing and stuff like that.”
And, he’ll continue watching the film of how Josh Allen executed the offense in Buffalo the last few years.
“I think we'll continue to watch their stuff, continue to watch their plays. It comes up when we're installing plays, when we're looking back at plays you've already installed, so we'll keep watching.”
Follow Lou DiPietro on Twitter: @LouDiPietroWFAN
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